Summer 2013 Gazette - The Alpine Club of Canada

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2013 Canadian Alpine Journal on sale nowLynn follows 2012 Mountain Guides Ball PatronFerdl Taxbock up the Northeast Face route on HaLing, high above Canmore. photo by Ferdl TaxbockShort ropeby Lynn MartelPutting together each issue of theGazette is like fitting togetherthe pieces of a puzzle—for me,as editor, and also for Suzan Chamney,who designs each page so creatively andskillfully, one by one. But unlike a jigsawpuzzle, whose pieces are all contained ina box to be dumped out onto a tabletop,when I begin working on each issueabout six weeks before its date with theprinter, I don’t know what all the pieceswill look like. Throughout the year, andespecially during those weeks, emailsland in my inbox with stories and photos,many of which have been pitched to mebeforehand, but there are always surprises.Outside those six weeks, three timesa year, I do keep the Gazette on my radarwith an eye to what might make a goodstory for a future issue. For this issue,a little more planning than usual wasrequired.First, back in January, Toby Harper,who is currently on parental leave fromhis position as Alpine Club of CanadaPrograms Director, brought my attentionto the World Cup Bouldering competitionscheduled for June in Hamilton,Ontario. As the second WC climbingevent to be hosted by Canada—and theACC, the governing body for competitiveclimbing in this country—this wouldbe an important story. Unlike Canada’sfirst WC, however, which took place inCanmore, I would not be there to writeabout the event. On top of that, theHamilton WC would take place just daysThe arctic sun had crossed all the cardinalpoints on the horizonand was hidden behind thePenny Icecap to the north.Streamers of fog and rainslipped across the peaks as thefirst hint of darkness started to settleover the northern landscape. A windfrom the southwest was blowing hard.I ducked into a fissure on the summitplateau and prepared for the descentby pulling the smallest cam off myharness and setting it into a perfectbottleneck crack. This blue Alien—atalisman fixed to my harness for thepast three months, and a lost partner’sfavourite cam—was a guardian thatprotected me, and now it’s a gift tothe mountain. I said a prayer, and thenturned into the wind and rain, followingmy partners into the darkness.Joshua LavigneRead the rest of Joshua Lavigne's story Sensory Overload inthe 2013 Canadian Alpine Journal. $29 from our online store.Add a subscription for the 2014 CAJ to your membershipfor $22 including shipping (in Canada), lower still if youalso have the Huts Option on your membership!www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/store/before this Gazette would be scheduledfor the printer’s. The deadline would betight.But, as ACC Executive DirectorLawrence White writes in his OpenAir column on page 30, that’s where theimpressive cooperation of Club membersliving thousands of kilometres apart cameinto play. In January, Toby Harper put inme in contact with competition organizer,Luigi Montilla, who connected mewith some Ontario photographers whoplanned to shoot the event. I asked if theywould be willing to donate some of theirimages on a very tight deadline—a tallorder, since sifting through hundreds ofimages shot over two days with 69 athletescompeting would be a considerableamount of work.I’m thrilled to say, with great thanksand deep appreciation to talentedphotographers Miguel Jette and DavidKawai, and also Calgary’s Pam Eveleigh,whose image of her son, Marc, a YouthNational Climbing Team member,appeared on the Spring 2011 cover ofthe Gazette, this issue is loaded withfabulous WC images, all of which arrivedon deadline! As is true with all amateurlevel sports, particularly those in theirearly years of development, the countlessvolunteer hours of family members andfriends of the athletes are vital to thesuccessful planning and execution of thecompetitions essential to growing thatsport.In addition to the photographers’ generouslydonated images, these pages alsofeature stories by members from Ontarioto Edmonton, written about adventuresexperienced on mountains from Tanzaniato New Zealand to the king of theCanadian Rockies, Mount Robson.Enjoy the fully-assembled puzzle!4 Alpine Club of Canada Gazette Summer 2013
Member initiates Gmoser Film Preservation Projectby Chic ScottBetween 1957 and 1968, HansGmoser produced ten films ofmountain adventure which hethen toured across North America. Manyof us have wonderful memories of thosepresentations; Hans at the microphonedressed in his Austrian sweater, gloriousski and climbing images on the screen,and beautiful classical music in the air.For many of us, those evenings were thebeginning of our long love affairs withthe mountains.Soon it will be possible to relive thosemagic experiences. Chic Scott and MargSaul, in partnership with the WhyteMuseum of the Canadian Rockies,and with the assistance of professionalQuick drawsCanada to host Youth WorldsClimbing Escalade Canadaselected the Youth National ClimbingTeam members who will representCanada at the World Youth ClimbingChampionships, taking place inSaanich, Vancouver Island, August15 thru 19. The team’s Head Coach isChris Neve, supported by AssistantCoach Ron Gosselin and AssistantCoaches Dūng Nguyen, Sean McColl,Stacey Weldon and Denis Mimeault.For a complete list of team members,visit www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/cecAnd congratulations to MarcEveleigh, current Pan-American YouthBouldering champion!Canadians reach new skimo heightsRevelstoke, B.C.’s Melanie Berniercapped a stellar season by teaming upwith American Janelle Smiley to takefourth place in the prestigious andgruelling Pierra Menta ski mountaineeringteam race which took place inFrance in March—the best ever rankingfor a North American team in therace’s 27-year history. Fellow Canadianskimo team members, AndrewMcNab and Reiner Thoni placed 15thin the men’s category, a top result forNorth American men. Read more atgenuineguidegear.com .filmmaker Will Schmidt, are digitizingand reassembling these films, just as theywere 50 years ago.Hans Gmoser presented his filmseach year at more than 50 different venuesall across North America. While the filmrolled on the screen and a soundtrackof classical music played independently,Hans would personally narrate thestory. All three elements came togetherin a remarkably seamless and beautifulproduction. In his films, Hans tookus ski touring at Rogers Pass and theLittle Yoho Valley. Together we exploredthe icefields along the ContinentalDivide and climbed the east ridge ofMount Logan in the Yukon and MountMcKinley in Alaska. We rock climbedhigh on Yamnuska, Mount Louis andCastle Mountain. And, of course, we werethere in the Bugaboos in 1965 and ’66 forthe first years of heli-skiing.All ten films are now safely storedat the Whyte Museum in Banff, as areseven of the original scripts. The filmsmust first be transferred to a high definitiondigital format, a major expense initself. Since Hans is no longer with us tonarrate the script, we have come up witha novel solution—Michael Hintringer,Hans’ nephew who lives in Canada butwas born and raised in the same Austriantown where Hans grew up, and whoseaccent is almost identical to his uncle’s,has volunteered to narrate the scripts.For the films, to which original scripts donot exist, we are writing a commentaryexplaining the action, which will be narratedby Chic Scott. All of this requiresmany hours in a sound recording studio.Finally, music must be integratedinto the show. Since much of the musicthat Hans used in his presentations (andwhich still exists on tapes in the museum)is under copyright and the original performersare difficult to identify, it willbe necessary to purchase the rights tosuitable music.In addition, it is our goal to interviewabout 15 individuals who appeared inthese films, then to create additional“chapters” using these interviews, archivalphotos and narration to explain the storybehind each film.It is all a very big job, and WillSchmidt, with 35 years’ experienceChic Scott is leading a project to digitize tenadventure films Hans Gmoser produced in the1950s and ’60s. photo Gmoser collectionproducing and directing films, has beenengaged to guide us through this complexprocess.Our budget is $106,000. To date, wehave raised more than $90,000, and feelconfident that we can raise the remainder.Work has begun; we have transferred thefilms to HD and recorded the narrationfor all ten films. We have begun insertingthe classical music soundtrack.For a $500 donation, you too cansupport this project and help make Hans’remarkable films available for viewing.For five years, these films will be availablefor home personal viewing only,and will not be commercially available.For this donation you will receive a tenDVD Collectors’ Edition set PLUS a$400 income tax receipt from the WhyteMuseum of the Canadian Rockies.To learn more about this project andto view a short of highlights clip fromHans’ films visitwww.whyte.org/archives/projects .For more information, please contactChic Scott at chic_scott@hotmail.com .facebook.com/alpineclubofcanadatwitter.com/alpineclubcanClub alpin du Canada Gazette été 2013 5
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Page 8 and 9: Stacey Weldon : profilpar Lynn Mart
Page 10 and 11: Mount Robson centennial exhibit unv
Page 12 and 13: Resplendent ski ascent: surprises a
Page 14 and 15: Climbin’ Kili ain’t no gimmeYes
Page 16 and 17: The Largest Network of BackcTHINK Y
Page 18 and 19: Margaret and Bruce Fraser soak in t
Page 20 and 21: New Zealand a trip to Middle Earthb
Page 22 and 23: Members launch mountain fiction pub
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Page 31: LIVE THE ADVENTURESPECIALOFFER25% O

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